Marquez happy, Pedrosa puzzled by lack of grip on Friday at COTA

Repsol Honda Team finished first and second on the first day of practice at Circuit of the Americas. 2013 rookie Marc Marquez led the way and was generally pleased, although teammate Dani Pedrosa was particular baffled by a distinct lack of adhesion.

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Repsol Media

Marquez, who also topped a three-day test in Austin a month ago, set the pace with his best lap time of 2’05.031. Pedrosa was half a second behind his compatriot.

"I’m quite happy because, from the beginning, I felt the same feeling with the bike as at the test," the reigning Moto2™ World Champion explained to motogp.com in the paddock.

"Actually, to start with there was zero grip, but it got better and better in the afternoon. The times should be much faster still tomorrow. We’re focusing most on the race – that’s the most important thing to do. We need to find which tyre works best for every session."

Pedrosa is also aware that there is still work to do.

"Not very good today," he began bluntly. "The track was really slippery and we had no grip. At the test the grip was much higher, so it’s kind of weird. Tomorrow we’ll just keep going! In general I think all the riders had problems leaning the bike over in the corners; in the morning the tyres took a bit of a beating, but in the afternoon the situation improved a little."

Should Marquez be able to clinch his maiden MotoGP victory on Sunday, the 20-year-old would undercut 1983 and 1985 title winner Freddie Spencer by becoming the youngest ever race winner in the top class of the World Championship.

Repsol Honda